Bernard Jay Leiderman (born February 14, 1956) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and songwriter. He is best-known for his

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

compositions for

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

programs, including

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

'', ''

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio ( NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...

'', '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'', ''

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 500 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by science ...

'', and

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

's ''

Marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

''. Leiderman attended

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

from 1973-74. He became a camera person at WTAR-TV (now

WTKR WTKR (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed WGNT (channel 27), an independen ...

) in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. He later studied broadcast journalism under Ed Bliss at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Leiderman's ''Morning Edition'' theme music was used for 40 years, from the show's first broadcast on November 5, 1979 until May 3, 2019, when the theme was replaced by a new arrangement composed by Man-Made Music of New York City. In 2012, Leiderman moved to Asheville, NC where he recorded and released his debut album "BJ" (2016) The album was recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC. The album was produced by Eric Sarafin (a.k.a. Mixerman) and features The Randall Bramblett Band and appearances by special guest artist

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

References

External links

*
"Composing For National Public Radio: A Conversation With BJ Leiderman"
- KPBS, March 29, 2011 by Angela Carone, Jocelyn Maggard, Maureen Cavanaugh {{DEFAULTSORT:Leiderman, B. J. 1956 births Living people Emmy Award winners American public radio personalities Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers American male composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians